AARMR Hurricane Model 15. First Impressions. Picture Heavy

[essdee1972]

Phew! What a discussion, guys!! From a new airgun manufacturer, to the philosophy of airgunning, it's like a bloomin' encylopedia!! And I've been missing the show!

I have a bit of advice for newbies (I was once a newbie in crawling, speaking, everything!)...... get a decent thing when you first start off, whether it is cars or guns. Reasons below (purely personal, and no offense to people who think differently):

1. Cheap things, by the very definition, will not give as much joy as better (and unfortunately more expensive) stuff. I have been buying cheap kitchen knives and Chinese fakes for ages, never became a collector till I got my first Victorinox.

2. As a newbie, most people will give up if they do not get good results. So, if your AR is badly inaccurate, you'd probably get bored of all that shooting and stuff within a month, and chuck that cheap gun in a corner.

3. It is very easy to let a 2000 rupee airgun (if there exists any), or a 1 lac 3rd hand car gather rust. With more expensive stuff, you'd think, hey, I just spent 15 grand on that gun, why am I letting it rust? Let me practice, let me ask someone, etc., etc. Get the best you can afford without taking debts or ruining your savings plans (I realise it sounds like "15 ways to improve your life", but it's only airguns/knives I am talking about).

4. I understand there are people who want to "hack", "tune", "improve" stuff. Hell! There are terabytes of information on the net how to hack even the superbly designed products of Ikea!! I am also bitten by that bug, sometimes. But overall, I think most people would like a great product which performs excellently "out of the box". I hate to have to sharpen a new knife, or iron a new shirt (I do these things, but because I want to, not because I have to).

I started airgunning with a cheap (less than 3K), SDB airgun which I bought on a whim from a shop which just happened to be there while I was enjoying a smoke, while waiting for my wife to finish some shopping. I got joy only when I shot some better (IHP) rifles belonging to friends.

My personal advice (ok, suggestion), to a newbie, would be to do the research first. Visit IFG (and please please do some research before you pose the inevitable newbie question for the zillionth time "which airgun???"). Maybe get in touch with some people directly, senior people on the forum (read the posts and you'll realise there's a big difference between seniors like Brihaji, and pretenders like me). And please buy a gun which many people recommend. IHP, Precihole, etc. Something which has been around for some time.

New manufacturers might come up with excellent products, let that be the second, or third gun (or car) in your collection.

[Maheshzarkar]

Thank you all. I believe PH NX 100 Scorpius is the one I would go for...In the next month.

[Big Daddy]

Good Choice! Please make sure you go through safety rules before breaking the barrel.

BD

[soumen]

Apache SE costs about INR 7000/- Plus shipping on kovibazaar.com. If you spend another 1000/- for Spring Compressor, Moly Grease and Piston seal modification ( if necessary ) you would have a decent AR which you would love to shoot for a long time.
GNV

GNV Sir,
I am a proud owner of SDB Apache, I can't understand why people are so crazy for online purchasing, where there have direct dealer information of the product, as they can save some thousands. And there are some member who already purchased from that dealer and they explained their experience on our forum. Now SDB are manufacturing factory tuned air rifle with good quality synthetic seal, so you can use it just out the box. As per my angle of view you should asked the dealer for the actual price including posting.
I got it from GREAT EASTERN FIREARMS Co. (Kolkata)
C/o. Sanjit Biswas (98311 89107)


Soumen

[GNV]

Dear Soumen,

Thank You for the information. This is the first time I am seeing the Dealer's name and contact number on the forum. Could you please PM me the ex-dealer price of Apache SE ?

Thank You,
GNV

[anoop]

Dear GNV, Apache .22 is 70 % cost of AARMR . This includes shipping. Anoop

[Big Daddy]

PH, now SDB ..... nice to see manufactures take the next step. I am sure forums like this paved the way.

BD

[GNV]

Dear GNV, Apache .22 is 70 % cost of AARMR . This includes shipping. Anoop

That is great. Thanks Anoop.

[main13]

Thank you all. I believe PH NX 100 Scorpius is the one I would go for...In the next month.

Happy Shooting man! Its a bit more expensive, maintainance intensive & less sturdy than Hurricane or Apache but for sure you'll enjoy shooting it!

If price wasn't a constraint then I might've suggested one of cheaper imported but equally good air rifles. There is this friend of mine who was recently selling a Remington .22 AR for some 50k. More expensive but worth every penny.

Dear GNV, Apache .22 is 70 % cost of AARMR . This includes shipping. Anoop

Hain! 5600 inclusive of shipping.. That's good! Considering the features it provides.. They ARE setting the bar higher nowadays, seems the 'extortionist' days of bandook-dealers are nearing an end finally!

essdee1972, et all: With due respect to the collective wisdom & the associated 'seniority', here are my two cents.
I am only a few months old in the field of airgun shooting. I only know a little bit about firearms but very little about airgunning! Got this Diana from a 'senior' aquaintance as a gift, been hooked to airgunning since then. In the last few months I've benefitted immensely from this forum and elsewhere about airgun construction & design.

Coming from a defense background, I usually rant about the Sarkari defense manufacturing industry for its ineptness, corruption etc. However there is another side to the Indian defense procurement story. Pls take a moment, read on, & take a moment to 'contemplate'...

In the Indian defense procurement, IMHO there are roughly two approaches - the 'Indian' approach followed by the army & IAF & the other, 'westernized' approach followed by the Navy. When formulating RFPs for any defense procurement, Army & the IAF's topmost brass basically picks up the catalogue of a said type of weapon system, then custom-configures its requirements to (often) suit a pre-selected vendor then ensure that it goes through. This is the case whenever the procurement is open to private(read, foreign) defense manufacturers.

However when a procurement has to be done from one of govt. defense manufacturering agencies, the RFPs are basically a 'compilation' of all the best qualities rolled into one, to be offered at a price lower than the lowest available anywhere in the world. For instance, when the Indian army wants its 'sarkari' MBT (main battle tank), it wants a tank that hits like a howitzer, can spot & shoot an alien on a far-off planet, in another galaxy, in another parrallel-universe, at night (last one was added as an afterthought!).. The aforesaid features are all available simultaneously and independently to the driver, gunner, loader and the commander.. It fires anti-aircraft as well as anti-tank 'unjammable' guided missiles, immune to all known(& unknown.. who knows, the shaolin-trained Chink tin-cans-on-tracks might know armoured Kung-Fu!) types of AT(anti-tank), is Indestructible, 'fords' through water like a submarine, climbs mountains, 'flies' across deserts, canals & bogs, outruns a Ferrari, weighs less than a HumVee, & has the fuel, cost & maintainance efficiencies of a TATA Nano!

Those in fauj know perfectly well what I've pointed at.. Now does it really wonder anyone why the Indian defense research agencies' products can never meet the 'specifications'?
Trust me, while my comparisons might be a tad exaggerated, they're perfectly in line with an actual, ongoing armoured-platform procurement scenario. The specifications of the IAF for its fighters and various missiles, radars & avionics to be procured from Indian defense manufactueres aren't too far behind...

The Navy, on the other hand, buys entire aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers, frigates, mine-sweepers & coast guard PBs (patrol boats) worth billions upon billions of $$$ from Indian dockyards. Not only this, its officers are actively involved in the design-specification formulation of their future platorms with the Indian shipbuilders. The navy also partially provides funding to its contractors, then hand-holds them to build its platforms 'precisely' to its requirements. You will never, repeat, never hear them whining about their platforms. After all, they build it themselves! And it needs to be mentioned that the Navy has single-handedly enforced blockades, blown up entire enemy cities, overwhelmed multiple navies, inserted forces, stopped coups, snooped on comms, decisively helping to win multiple wars and more in a region as vast as the Indian ocean with a budget & resource pool typically much smaller than the Indian army or IAF...

The reasons for this contrast had better be left for the MOD & PMO to handle. I'm no expert on the subject nor empowered enough to make any changes to this beyond posting my two-cents' worth of opinions in front of vastly more knowledgeable, capable and powerful men. I hope better sense prevails in time in the larger interests of the forces as well as the nation!

End of rant. Now back to the gun... While there are many excellent imported brands in the market, when I started searching for serious quality in the Indian airgun market, I found only TWO brands worth the moolah - the Precihole and a nondescript, unheard of AARMR... I researched both guns, then found a dealer friend, shot them both. I liked the Precihole for its overall 'completeness' Vs price. There is nothing I would like to add or take away from PH, except make it really sturdy to last a few decades and making it simultaneously cheaper. Given the Indian Army's specs, I think that's something fair to ask any gun-manufacturer!

However, as I hunted more about the AARMR, I found that the AARMR had a lot of hidden potential, I liked its huge swept area (meaning lots of power-potential), appreciated the sturdiness, accuracy was spot-on, price was low enough. Yes, six months back it made noise and the stock was assault-rifle type but I didn't hate it so much. Everything new has its teething problems & can be fixed with a little of effort. The M-16 was a big flop initially in Vietnam. Today it is the next more widespread thing after the AK & the evangelists!

As you can see the vibrations have been completely eliminated while keeping the accuracy intact. Rest of the pre-requisites like stock modifications are in the works. A 2-stage trigger, had it been conveyed to me in the first place, would probably have been arranged by now. However it became a 'phenomenon' very recently. I wonder why. Still I am willing to live with the single stage while the 2-stage comes around. Perhaps some cannot & I respect that desire for excellence! A forewarning or at least an "RFP" is a definite must to do so though.

I contacted the manufacturer, turns out the owner was a very nice, well-meaning retired Colonel! I liked their penchant for quality, desire to achieve excellence, their resources and their desire to work hard & build the best. What they lacked was expertise in airgun manufacturing and professional approach. So I decided to take the Indian Navy approach & have them build the best possible thing for them that I would want to have in an airgun.

PS: Pls excuse me if I don't respond immediately or a few days. Work stuff...

[kshitij]

SD, if you do take the time and try to "contemplate", remind me to buy you a drink when we meet next

[anoop]

Dear friend , we are not talking about aquiring sarkari T 72 or T 90 tanks. We want good airguns which are a pleasure to shoot and economical. And INDIAN. This is important. Apache or AARMR -All of us will except either provided it is good. Apache is good and reasonably priced. Anoop

[Maheshzarkar]

Ok. If I wait. The how long should I to buy the upgraded version of Hurricane. The Assault stock is captivating

[GNV]

The new trigger blade alone would take 3 months to materialize.They informed me that they will send it to me in APRIL. Don't know how long it would take for the new 2 stage trigger to be designed, tested and finally incorporated ( if they succeed ) in commercial ( not prototypes ) production rifles. I would assume that from copying/designing and prototype making and testing and modifying and finally making them for production guns would take some 6 months from the beginning. I don't know how far they are in making the prototypes. I suggest you to wait for six months or for three months after they release their final modified gun and then buy it.
But I always advice people to consider different guns and handle them and if possible shoot them and finally select the one which fits him properly and with which he is comfortable. My two bits

GNV

[main13]

Dear friend , we are not talking about aquiring sarkari T 72 or T 90 tanks. We want good airguns which are a pleasure to shoot and economical. And INDIAN. This is important. Apache or AARMR -All of us will except either provided it is good. Apache is good and reasonably priced. Anoop

Was trying to kill two birds with one stone sir!

The point I wanted to drive home is that in order to get the product we need as end users, we need to 'hand-hold' the OEMs & let them know what they need to do & how. Abroad this military-industrial complex has been highly effective. In India we're willing to shoot ineffective assault rifles & fly 'unforgiving' aircraft but not catch the IOFs, DRDO & HAL by their throats & have them do precisely what we want! This has lead to a virtual 'enslavement' & dependence of our combat readiness & even reponse strategies in case of attacks like Pathankot and 26/11 to the whims & fancies of foreign 'pressure groups'..
I believe our guys are quite effective and excellent once they get hold of the technologies, we just need to tell them exactly what we want & how!

Did you read the FMBT specs btw?! If not, pls do, makes for a good laugh! The AMCA specs of IAF more or less in the same league. Glad they've finally 'rationalized' & settled for the LCA MkI+ instead.. Lot of time & effort saved there. We can easily field these birds on the western front at least if not the northern. For the price of one Sukhoi we can afford several LCAs, then swamp the goddamned enemy with waves upon waves of our fighters the Chinese way!

Ok. If I wait. The how long should I to buy the upgraded version of Hurricane. The Assault stock is captivating

The powerplant has matured enuff. No barrel drooping reported. No significant wear & tear either now. As far as my opinion is concerned, the gun is good enuff to shoot. The current model is wayyyy better than the one around which this entire thread revolves. The current model will throw a little more power than the NX-100 & with roughly same accuracy. On the other hand the 2-stage trigger remains. That you can negotiate at the time of buying that they send it to you when ready. The choice ultimately is yours.

Being novices they've tried to build a one size fits all kind of stock. Despite being Sardars, they've designed the stock to be comfortable for kids too. May be according to them, airguns are for kids! They don't know they shoot them at the Olympics too!

Where do you live btw? Perhaps you should go to some local gunstore & see if they have it in stock. Try out a few guns & see which one you like more. Never go by what the dealer recommends unless you know him very well though. They all invariably sing ballads about any piece of cast iron crap they want to sell you & strongly deprecate anything they don't have!

[Maheshzarkar]

I have relocated to Pune from New Delhi where I had been for 40 years of my lifetime. Have met many local dealer here...They have not even heard of Hurricane Mod 15. Well they were keen to sell me Ak 500 after hearing my plight about accuracy and long range...but also said if I could she'll out more money about twice then I should go for percihole rifle nx 100 Scorpius. Well We all know...The difference between the Shining star and Rising Star.. Please advise...well would Iove to flash my AR also...maybe Assault stock should the trick. ...